Crude-oil futures rallied in Asia Monday on positive sentiment after data showed that China's oil imports in May touched a record high and Spain secured a bank bailout deal over the weekend, easing worries about the euro zone.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $85.89 a barrel at 0651 GMT, up $1.79 in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $1.92 to $101.39 a barrel.
China's crude-oil imports rose to their highest on record in May, touching 25.48 million metric tons, or 6.02 million barrels a day, topping a previous record set in February of 5.98 million barrels a day, customs data showed Sunday.
The import surge by the world's second-largest oil consumer by volume snapped two consecutive months of declines and was likely due to persistent stockpiling and anticipation of higher output after a round of refinery maintenance.
The market was also buoyed by better-than-expected economic data from China over the weekend. Investors expected the worst after a surprise interest rate cut Thursday, but both imports and exports rose sharply in May, with inflation slowing more than forecast and industrial production edging upward.
In Europe, Spain's government agreed to request up to 100 billion euros in EU aid for its banks, alleviating some concerns about the region's economy and boosting Asian stock markets, the euro and oil futures.
Spain's bank bailout is little surprise and may spur at least a temporary return of risk appetite Monday morning, OCBC Bank said in a note.
"This however, is just another stage of the ongoing slow-motion train wreck developing for the euro-zone debt crisis," it said.
Barclays said "further upward momentum remains pressurised by mounting macroeconomic concerns about Greece, Spain and the peripheral economies."
The oil market is also supported by some risk premium after talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency appeared to falter Friday, raising concerns of a breakdown in negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program at a meeting later this month in Moscow.
Barclays, however, said it has a long-term price forecast for Brent pegged at $135 a barrel.
"We see the medium-term crude-oil price risks as being to the upside mainly due to strong emerging market demand growth, a lack of spare capacity and constraints on non-OPEC supply."
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for July--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 444 points to $2.7296 a gallon, while July heating oil traded at $2.7176, 455 points higher.
ICE gasoil for June changed hands at $869.75 a metric ton, up $24.25 from Friday's settlement.
